England’s dramatic triumph was the most watched UK programme of 2018

England’s dramatic triumph was the most watched programme of 2018, beating the royal wedding as 18.3m tuned in… and Kane’s winner sparked incredible 52,000 tweets per minute

Social media use was monitored throughout England’s Group G encounter

When Harry Kane nodded in late on, thousands took to their keyboards

Remarkable 18.3million people tuned in to watch BBC live coverage

Another 3m streamed game online which is a new record for the BBC

England’s thrilling victory over Tunisia was the most watched UK TV programme of the year, eclipsing the royal wedding as 18.3 million tuned in at it’s peak.

The live BBC coverage of the game drew enormous viewing figures, a 69 per cent share, as World Cup fever swept the nation.

England’s win became the most watched programme of 2018 and was streamed online by another three million people, a record for the broadcaster.

This graphic shows the spike in Twitter activity when Harry Kane scored the late winner

When Harry Kane dramatically nodded in Kieran Trippier’s corner to score the winner, social media activity also spiked to remarkable levels.

Twitter monitored engagement with the game on the website throughout the 90 minutes.

Kane’s opener and the controversial Ferjani Sassi equaliser had been the two most talked about moments until the 91st minute winner.

A spike of 52,000 tweets per minute was recorded with the number gradually subsiding after full time.

There was a huge outpouring of emotion and relief when England secured a late victory

In terms of the most popular individual tweets, a clip of Bradley Lowery, who captured the hearts of football fans before passing away from a rare form of cancer last July, received the most attention.

The official England Twitter page posted: ‘HE’S DONE IT AGAIN! Harry Kane restores our lead in injury time!’ This was re-tweeted 4,400 times with 4,600 likes as the nation collectively celebrated the thrilling winner.